Sac-Joaquin Section unveils proposal for new playoff system

LODI – Just two days after revealing its realignment proposal, the Sac-Joaquin Section capped a big week by presenting a revamped playoff system that could end up taking into affect as early as next year.

RIPON RUNS PAST SUMMERVILLE

RIPON - Not much went wrong for Ripon High in an 82-55 home pasting of Summerville Friday night, the last non-league contest to count toward postseason power ratings.

Florida claims crown, so does USC, Utah and Texas

Another glorious Bowl Championship Series season has come and gone, and I don't know about you, but I'm still buzzing over having just crowned four separate college football champions.

MYSA holding final registration on Wednesday

The Manteca Youth Softball Association is holding its last registration date on Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. at Straw Hat Pizza in Manteca (1238 N. Main St.).

Spartans even league record

OAKDALE - Lathrop High's sophomore girls basktball team is showing signs of improvement and continued its good play Monday in a 47-31 Valley Oak League victory at Oakdale.

Cortez has another ring to show off

The last time that Sensei Jason Cortez competed for a world title, he made it all the way to the finals before a team from Guatemala had him disqualified for wearing his wedding band.

Manteca looks to garner first title in 20 years

Manteca High is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its last Valley Oak League championship in varsity boys basketball.

Valley Oak League season tips off

East Union plans to be a little more greedy. The Lancers ended the Valley Oak League season on a downer last year, losing to rival Manteca. The loss forced East Union to share the championship with Sonora, and the win for Manteca was enough to just get it into the postseason. Lesson learned? Absolutely. The Lancers shooting for its third straight VOL title and fourth and five years, only this time they want it all ...

THIS IS SPARTA

King Birakos is ready to lead his Spartans into battle. But months before Tuesday's Valley Oak League opener against Manteca and Weston Ranch, Dimos Birakos had to find soldiers to lead into battle - never an easy task when building a first-year wrestling program from scratch. Lathrop High's grappling team took its first big step, as 43 freshmen and sophomores turned out to endure the rigors of a sport new to most of them. Keeping those ...

Martin, Ratto rattle in 19 apiece to lead Ripon

RIPON - Ed Martin knows his role. Come off the bench, provide a spark defensively and make a couple layups if and when the opportunities present themselves. Martin did all that and more in Ripon's 71-51 blowout of Big Valley Christian Monday. The scrappy 5-foot-10 guard scored 12 of his 19 points in the opening quarter, when the Indians (4-5) sprinted out to a 29-10 lead. He was much more involved in the offense than ...

Building Blocks

The Sierra High girls tennis program took a number of steps forward during the 2008 season, finishing 9-5 in Valley Oak League for a respectable fourth place finish in a conference dominated by Ceres, Oakdale and Sonora.

Chill out, it’s not that cold around here

It's not cold. Maybe cool, possibly chilly, not cold. It can't be that cold if the lady at Starbucks asked me if I wanted my green tea hot or cold. To her credit, I was wearing one portion of my Marmot winter jacket, albeit just the lining. If it truly was cold, I'd be rocking the whole thing, complete with a flannel button-up and my water-proof moccasins. Trust me, I love winter gear. I turn ...

Leader of the Pack

Sierra High offensive coordinator Jeff Abrew installed the spread offense in 2007. With a quarterback like Mike Garcia and wide receivers Nigel Malone and Avery White in the arsenal, how could he resist? But when that talented trio graduated, what were the Timberwolves to do? The 2008 varsity team welcomed a junior class that went 8-0-2 at the sophomore level, where it was successful operating the more run-oriented wing-T, and the starting quarterback position was ...

EU FIRES ON ALL CYLINDERS IN WIN

MODESTO - It goes without saying that East Union seniors Ashley Rose and Rachel McDaniel are expected to bring their 'A' game to the court each and every night, and, luckily for head coach Jim Agostini, that's exactly what they do.

AQUATICS IN JUNIOR OLYMPICS

PACIFICA - Christmas and chlorine? In the state of California, there is no break in the swimming season. When the weather turns cold, the swimmers head indoors and that's exactly where James Thompson and Alyssa Froiland were Dec. 5 through 7 in Pacifica, the site of the 2008 Pacific Swimming 14 and under Junior Olympics. Representing the Manteca Aquatics club swim program and guided by coach Clay Basepayne, Thompson and Froiland both turned in exceptional ...

RIPON WAVES

He’s running Down Under

By JAMES BURNS

Thunder claim Western title; Kelly Cup Finals start Saturday

STOCKTON – Olivier Roy put on the best performance of his postseason career as the Stockton Thunder won Game 5 over the Idaho Steelheads 2-1 to become the 2013 Western Conference champions in front of 4,530 fans at Stockton Arena on Saturday.

Giants back up Lincecum with three home runs

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Fredi Gonzalez left the Atlanta Braves for two games following a series-opening victory at San Francisco to attend his daughter's college graduation in Georgia.

A’s fall behind early, keep sliding with loss

SEATTLE (AP) - It's been a stretch of struggles for Oakland, and no one on the Athletics struggled more Sunday than Brandon Moss.

Warriors beat Spurs in OT, even series 2-2

OAKLAND (AP) - His spirits down, his left ankle limp and his team's season hanging in the balance, Stephen Curry wondered whether he could recover for the biggest game of his career until a text message popped up on his phone around 2 a.m. Saturday.

Tiger Woods wins Players Championship

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Tiger Woods had the last word against Sergio Garcia by winning The Players Championship on Sunday.

Westra leads Tour of California

ESCONDIDO (AP) - Lieuwe Westra of the Netherlands easily outsprinted Spanaird Francisco Mancebo to claim the sweltering and hilly stage 1 and assumed the overall race Sunday lead at the Amgen Tour of California.

Hinchcliffe’s profile raised by hot IndyCar start

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - James Hinchcliffe might have the busiest appointment calendar in IndyCar.

LeBron James shrugs off Bulls’ flopping accusations

CHICAGO (AP) - The suggestion that he's a flopper drew a grin as wide as his wingspan from LeBron James.

Detroit Red Wings finish off Ducks 3-2 in Game 7

ANAHEIM (AP) - Henrik Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula each had a goal and an assist, and the Detroit Red Wings finished off the Anaheim Ducks with a 3-2 victory in Game 7 on Sunday night.

East Union earns No. 1 seed

Jim Todd gave his East Union girls soccer team the day off on Friday. Come Monday, though, it's back to work. The Lancers will open the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs on Thursday as the No. 1 seed, a just reward following a one-loss regular season and two hard-fought games against Valley Oak League champion and Division II contender Kimball. On Monday's practice agenda: "Basics," said Todd, the Lancers' seventh-year head coach. "We're getting back ...

DOWN BUT NOT OUT

The roller-coaster ride that is Ripon High's baseball season has hit another valley. The Indians were swept by Orestimba this week following Friday's staggering 13-2 five-inning loss at home. The Warriors (7-3 Trans-Valley League, 14-6 overall), on the other hand, appear to be peaking at the right time. By sweeping Ripon, they hold a tiebreaking advantage and clinched a berth to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs, something that coach Matt Candelario says, "hasn't happened ...

Manteca tandem stumbles in section semifinals

Yok Jing Ma and Angel Tejada's Cinderella run in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Doubles Tournament came to an Friday morning at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club in Roseville. The Manteca High tandem did go down with a fight, however dropping a two-plus-hour long match to No. 2-seeded Alick Liang and Gurman Bains of Ceres, 6-3, 3-6, 3-6. "It was extremely competitive throughout," Manteca coach Frank Fontana said. "The Ceres team won the big points when ...

HIGH-WATER VOL MARKS

Erika Brown and the rest of the Ripon High girls swimmers put the cherry on top of a banner season in the Valley Oak League on Saturday. The Lady Indians more or less confirmed their status as regular-season co-champion with their performance in the VOL Championships, placing first with 129 points. Meet host Oakdale, which shares the girls crown with Ripon, posted 105 points. Oakdale dominated to win the boys competition, and the Mustangs topped ...